


beep beep beep work under construction

by averageshippingcultist



Category: Shingeki no Kyojin | Attack on Titan
Genre: Alternate Universe - Historical, Alternate Universe- French Revolution, Angst, Asshole Grisha Yeager, Endgame Levi/Eren Yeager, Enemies to Lovers, Eventual Smut, Fluff, LIKE EVER, M/M, Minor Levi/Erwin Smith, My First Fanfic, Please Kill Me, Relationship tags to be added as they appear, Slow Burn, THEY SUFFER, This Is Not Going To Go The Way You Think, but he is kind of an asshole????, carla jaeger is so done, character tags to be added as they appear, contrary to what you might think, erwin isnt bad, especially levi's, he's also very done with everyone's shit, i literally wrote chapter five in an airport waiting for my flight, it gets better though????, like a lot, my followers on Instagram asked me to do this
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-05-15
Updated: 2019-05-27
Packaged: 2020-03-05 22:57:34
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 4
Words: 3,578
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18838504
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/averageshippingcultist/pseuds/averageshippingcultist
Summary: During the late 18th century, France is stuck in a constant state of civil war. with the Jacobin's reign of terror still going strong, it seems unlikely that the situation will get even remotely better. When Commander Erwin Smith’s right hand man, Levi Ackerman, goes undercover to spy on the revolutionaries, he meets Eren Jaeger, a revolutionary planning to overthrow Erwin. their worlds collide in ways they never expected they would.To make it short: it’s really loosely based of Les Miserables, where Levi is sort of like Javert but not an ass and Eren is Marius.





	1. A Deadly Mission

**Author's Note:**

> hi guys! this is my first story that I've ever written, so please don't be too harsh on me.  
> if you properly read the tags, my followers on my Instagram challenged me to write a story and post it, so here i am!  
> enjoy the story and leave kudos if you want :)
> 
> yes, this is LOOSELY based off Les Miserables. 
> 
> *DISCLAIMER*  
> Attack on Titan (Shingeki no Kyojin) does not belong me! it belongs to Hajime Isayama. this story is simply based off his characters and in no way is this work for profit or financial gain.

"Excuse me? You want _me_ to go out in the _slums of Paris_ to spy on a bunch of children who want to overthrow you, the most prominent, influential figure in the French military?”

Corporal Levi Ackerman asked indignantly. The man he was talking to, Commander Erwin Smith, sighed in exasperation and put his hands flat on his desk, bowing his head.

“Levi, for the last time, they’re revolutionaries. They have the majority of the country in league with them. They have tens of thousands of supporters, including spies from the military.”

Levi’s eyes flashed in the dim lighting from the candles and said firmly,

“You don’t know there are spies within your little circle of prissy soldiers. There probably aren’t, anyways.”

Erwin lifted his head and looked his subordinate in the eyes.

“I may not know for certain Levi, but I can rely on you to find out, can I not?”

The captain grunted in annoyance.

“Because you really have to send _me_ , don’t you,” he grumbled.

Erwin chuckled lowly under his breath.

“Naturally.”

Levi rolled his eyes.

“Fine, fine.” He muttered, rolling his shoulders back, squaring his shoulders.

“In that case, let’s get this over with, shall we?”

On that final note, the captain swept out of the room, packing his trunk and preparing himself for the adventure that awaited him, a fair few miles away, in the slums of Paris.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> this goes out to my beta, Marina_lynx , who screamed and cried while listening to me tell her the plan of how this story will turn out.  
> stay woke my dude, and please don't kill me


	2. It is Nothing to Die for the Right Thing

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> this chapter is a lot longer than the previous one, so hey, there's that.  
> i honestly wasn't expecting this much support on this piece of fuckery as I've gotten, so i was pleasantly surprised at that.  
> anyways, here's chapter 2!  
> and yes, this chapter's title is based off a quote from the book

It was that same morning when yet another argument broke out over breakfast in the Jaeger household.

“You can’t just forbid me from going, father!” Eren Jaeger shouted.

“You may be the military’s main field doctor and one of Erwin Smith’s main supporters, but you can’t just forbid me from revolting against the military because it might _ruin the family’s reputation if their youngest son disagreed with their ideals_.”

Grisha Jaeger’s hand came down on the side of his son’s face, leaving a livid red hand mark behind.

“That’s enough out of you boy” He hissed, his green-blue eyes hardening.

“I forbid you from revolting against the military, and that is final. _Do I make myself clear_?”

Eren looked his father in the face, his own green-blue eyes equally as hard. Before he could open his mouth to retort, his mother laid a hand on his shoulder.

“That’s enough,” she said firmly, looking at her husband, who looked as though he was going to say something.

“Out of _both_ of you.”

Eren threw his father one last dirty look before shrugging his mother’s hand off, stalking out of the room, running a hand through his hair.

* * *

 

He spent the majority of the day locked in his room, thinking over ways to escape his family home and going to the slums, where most of the revolutionaries and rebels were gathered. He knew it was dangerous to be the son of one of Erwin Smith’s main supporters, rebelling against the main commander in the Jacobin army – one of the most powerful men in France. And if his fellow revolutionaries found out who his father was, chances were the consequences wouldn’t be very healthy for him.

A knock sounded out on his door some time later and his mother came in.

“Eren,” she said softly.

He ignored her.

“Eren,” she tried again, louder this time.

He looked up at his mother, his eyes half lidded. She took a step forward, and sat on the edge of his bed, putting a hand on his shoulder. He attempted to shrug her off again, but this time, she stood her ground.

“Eren, _look at me_.” She said, undeterred by her son’s attitude.

He stopped trying to shrug her off and looked at her in the eyes. His mother took as deep of a breath as she could with her corset squeezing her torso before continuing on.

“Eren, I know where you’re coming from, with your idea to revolt. Erwin Smith is a cruel and ruthless man who is willing to sacrifice anything and everything – including people - for the ‘good of the country.’”

Eren looked at his mother in surprise. Carla Jaeger was usually such a mellow, soft-spoken woman, who had a tendency to remain neutral on topics like this. To hear her have such an opinion on a man that his father supported so openly… it was surprising. Carla looked at him with a ghost of a smirk on her lips.

“You’re still thinking about it, aren’t you?” she asked him.

Eren looked down at the ground before giving a single nod of his head. Beside him, his mother laughed under her breath.

“You and your father are so alike, it’s unbelievable. You both have a set of ideals that you both stick to and you’re both stubborn as mules.”

Eren looked up at his mother again and she smiled softly.

“Eren, you’re my son and I love you, but I also can’t support your decision to revolt. You could _die_ , Eren. If they find out who you are, they can and they will kill you. You know that don’t you?”

She took a deep breath, but before she could continue, Eren interrupted her.

“What about Mikasa, mom?” he asked, voice sharp as a knife. “She’s part of the rebels. Why can’t I be part of them?” Carla looked down and said very quietly,

“She has a right to be part of them. Her parents were murdered by Erwin Smith’s men. Eren, please don’t try to go find her, I’m begging you.” She implored, tears brimming her eyes.

Eren was quiet for a few moments, and, when he said nothing, his mother got up to leave.

His mother’s hand rested on the doorknob and turned back to him.

“Eren, I’m sorry, but I really cannot let you do this. You may be 17, but you’re still my _son_. My job is to make sure you’re safe. I hope you’ll find it in yourself to forgive me one day.”

When Eren said nothing, Carla looked at the closed door dejectedly and left the room, closing the door behind her.

* * *

 

It wasn’t until about an hour after his mother had shut the door to his room, and Eren had mulled his mother’s words in his head over and over, that Eren finally sat at his wooden desk and started to draw up a plan to leave for the slums.

He felt bad leaving his mother behind to deal with his father’s wrath, but it was the right thing to do, whether his parents liked it or not.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> *gives you oreos* take this cliffhanger  
> but on another note...  
> woop woop chapter 3 is 30% done and thats when the show really begins, ladies and gents, so you have that to look forward to on the next episode of: This Fic is a Mess.
> 
> again, special thanks to Marina_lynxs for your ever loving support, love you my dude


	3. Do You Hear The People Sing?

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Sooooo, this is where the fun begins for real people! also, i'm really, really, really REALLY happy, because mikasa appears in this chapter,along with a couple others, so we've got that going  
> (fun fact, my beta died again)

Erwin had arranged for an inconspicuous, plain-looking carriage to escort Levi to the docks on the edge of the city, not too far from where the rebels were so that Levi wouldn’t have to walk very far, but also not too close that they would see him getting out of a carriage.

Levi stepped out and immediately scrunched up his nose at the smell of the polluted canal and stale city air. The corporal was born in these very slums, but he hadn’t been back since he was a child, since his father… he shivered and shook his head.

Now was not the time to think of that asshole. He had a mission to complete.

He walked over to the first barricade: a wall of broken chairs, tables and bed legs and he surveyed it with disgust.

_These_ were the people that thought they could revolt against Erwin and potentially _win_? Were they really that stupid and naive? 

Levi shook his head again. _I have a job to do, dammit_ , he thought. _It’s not like I can let my personal feelings for Erwin get in my way right now. Not that I give a damn about Eyebrows’ well being, but still, I’m getting paid for doing this, and i owe him for not locking me up, and that’s all that really matters_.

He pushed down his thoughts again and arranged his features into a look of cold indifference and with that, walked over to the barricade to climb on the other side.

* * *

 

Eren climbed out the window to his room after the moon had risen, the servants had snuffed out the candles, and his parents had gone to bed. It had to be well after midnight, but he didn’t care. Regardless what his parents said, this was fighting for the right thing, and fuck it if high society didn’t agree. Eren had put a worn faded black cloak over his old clothes and ventured out in the direction to the middle of Paris.

 It was a long ways away, but it wasn’t too hard to find it. A huge barricade of broken wooden furniture went up the entire height between two buildings, with two men with muskets on either side, making it next to impossible to pass undetected. _Whoa, that’s pretty badass,_ he thought.

Due to his sheltered, privileged upbringing and his over-protective mother, Eren had never had the chance to see the world for what it actually was, only through the gates of the courtyard, while most of the nobles saw it through a rose-colored lens, and as though nothing was amiss.  Sometimes, it seemed that only Eren, Mikasa and his best friend Armin had the good sense to see how cold, corrupt and cruel the world around them really was.  

He shook the memories out of his head. He was here now, that was all that mattered.  He walked up to the barricade, in front of a guard, and shouted, “I’m one of you, and may I fight alongside you, my fellow revolutionaries?”

The guard gave Eren an incredulous look, but was spared from answering, because suddenly a voice called out, “Jean! It’s okay, he’s with me!”

Both Eren and the guard, Jean, looked up. On the very top of the barricade was his adopted sister, Mikasa.

* * *

 

Levi looked up at the two guards with cold eyes. _Bunch of morons, playing at being soldiers. Do they not know that this isn’t what being a soldier is? I bet it’s shitting filthy everywhere, too._ Levi subtly shook his head yet again, and walked up to the guards at the top of the barricades and called up, “oi, you! I’m one of you and-”

The guard looked down on the captain and interrupted him, sneering, “Since when? I’ve never seen you before until now”

The captain snorted derisively. “Of course not, you horse-faced motherfucking idiot. I’ve only come here today, and I wish to join your ranks.  If you hadn’t interrupted so damn rudely, maybe I would have finished my sentence.”

The guard’s face darkened in fury and moved to climb down, but the other guard stopped him.

“Wait, jean,” he started. “He might as well be telling the truth. I mean, who would want to join if they weren’t getting something out of it?”

The guard, Jean, mumbled, “gee, I don’t fucking know, Marco. Maybe, _a spy from the military_?”

Levi’s breath subtly hitched but kept his expression schooled into a look of cold indifference and scoffed, “why the fuck would I be a spy?”

Marco looked over at him with a smile. “We aren’t saying you are, at least, I hope we aren’t, _right Jean_?”

Jean sighed in defeat and glared at Levi. “Yeah, yeah, whatever.”

And together, both he and Marco helped him inside the base, beyond the barricade.

Marco revealed the opening in the broken furniture, and Jean hissed at Levi, “you may have won him over, but you don’t have me fooled. You’re a spy and when I catch you red-handed, I’ll kill you myself. Got that?”

Levi snorted. “sure.”

And with that, they walked into the base that was the revolutionaries’ camp.

* * *

 

Eren looked up in shock. It was a given that Mikasa would be at the camp, but to have her actually vouch for him was another thing entirely. He looked at Jean with a smug look.

“See? I’m with her. So can I pass?”

Jean looked at him with an unimpressed look on his face, and looked up at Mikasa again. “Are you sure he’s here with good intentions?”

Mikasa stared down at him, and said firmly, “he’s my brother, I think I’m pretty sure, Jean.”

She turned on her heel and walked past the hole she came through, calling out, “c’mon, we don’t have all day, and if the Jacobins see us, they’ll know where we are.”

Jean huffed and led Eren back into the base that was the revolutionaries’ camp.

 

 

 

* * *

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Actual Conversation That Happened Between Me and My Beta:
> 
> me: so this is how the chapter panned out  
> my beta: *incoherent screaming and crying and flopping around on the floor like a dead fish* YOU PUT PARALLELS  
> me: dude, you good?  
> my beta: *screams some more* P A R A L L E L S  
> me: aight, you need some McDonalds, I'll leave you alone
> 
> anyways. we'll see you next time on the next episode of This Fic is a Mess!


	4. The Hour Before

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> this might be my last update for a while, because this is my last day of school before finals and next week im going to be busy af studying my ass off (yes, surprisingly, i'm going to study lmao) and then after that, i'm going on vacation for 2 weeks, so my updates will be sporadic and all over the place.

Mikasa and Jean led Eren through a series of alleyways used as hallways, going about them wordlessly, before Mikasa stopped in front of a door suddenly. “Wait,”

both males turned around to look at her, Jean raising an eyebrow inquisitively. Mikasa took a breath before continuing on, “I wish to speak to my brother.”

Jean nodded, before she added,

“Alone. Please.”

Jean looked as though she had struck him in the face with a musket, and started protesting, “Mika-”

She held up a hand, placating him and fixed him with a firm stare. “Please.”

Jean huffed and fixed Eren with a dirty look. “if he even thinks of hurting you-”

It was mikasa’s turn to huff. “For the Lord’s sake, Jean, I’m a big girl, I can hold my own, and I’ll be fine” she said indignantly.

Jean shut his mouth, and Eren felt a burst of pride for his sister in his chest. _Fucking asshole_ , he thought, _if he thinks he can control Mika like that, he’s got a big storm coming_. He smirked at jean. “Yeah horse face; she’s a big girl that can probably whoop your ass too.”

Jean raised his fist and moved towards Eren, but she came between them. “Let’s _go_ , Eren.” She growled, pulling him by the ear towards the door.

*

 Meanwhile, jean and Marco led Levi through the maze of alleyways, until they came up to a plain wooden door painted brown and swung it open. The inside of the room was non-descript and very Spartan, with only a straw-stuffed bed and brick walls, unlike his quarters back at the military base, which was to be expected, not that his room was any more decorated there either.

Marco gave Levi a big grin. “Welcome to your new quarters, erm-” he stopped suddenly with an apologetic look on his face, looking down.

“I don’t even know your name.”

Levi looked at him with a blank look on his face. “So it seems you don’t. My name doesn’t matter much, anyway. You don’t need to know it.”

Before he could say anything else, he felt jean’s hand on the back of his collar, yanking upwards. “He asked you your name. Now. Tell. Him. Your. Name.” he punctuated every word with a hiss in ear before Marco practically yelled,

“Jean! Put. Him. Down! Now!”

Jean looked up at his friend with a startled look on his face, which morphed into contempt, before setting Levi down muttering, “Fucking asshole”

Marco looked at him with a pointed glare. “I’m sorry, _what was that_?”

Jean immediately clamped his mouth shut, stammering out quickly, “n-not you Marco, not you”

Marco kept the look on his face.

“I don’t care who it was directed at. We’re all on the same side, so we might as well work together, instead of against each other, or else this whole thing is pointless, and we should just give up and surrender

Jean gulped and wrung his hands and Marco said sharply, “apologize.”

Jean looked at the ground and said very quietly, “I’m sorry.”

Marco’s face softened. “That’s good. Now can we all get along? Please?”  

Jean looked up and nodded. “Yes, yes we can.”

To which Levi replied, “I suppose so.”

*

 After Jean had left, and Mikasa had opened the door after a few minutes to check that he was gone, she put her forearm against Eren’s throat and slammed him into the wall, her forearm and wrist pressing against his windpipe, choking him. Eren gagged and choked, trying to claw his sister off of him, to no avail.

“Mika!” he sputtered, his voice strained with the loss of oxygen. “What in the hell are you doing? Leggo o’ me!”

His sister didn’t reply, backhanding him across the face with her other hand instead, leaving half of his face swollen. He gasped, but didn’t say anything.

Her eyes darkened with anger and she pressed her arm down harder. Her brother’s eyes bugged out, and he sputtered, but before he could say anything she hissed, “Why the fuck are you here?” he sputtered and choked out, “I wanted to join your ranks. Is it that much of a problem?” she hissed angrily, and backhanded him again. “Why? Why would you do that Eren? So I have one extra person to look after? Because you got bored at home so you need to cause trouble out here?”

Eren looked genuinely hurt at that accusation and he stopped his sister. “I wanted to revolt against Erwin Smith. He doesn’t deserve to be in any sort of position of power, much less lead a country under his tyranny.”  

Mikasa looked at him in surprise and she released her wrist in her haste. Eren collapsed to the ground, his face reddish-purple, coughing and choking, desperately trying to get enough oxygen in his lungs. Mikasa watched him gather his wits about him with a look of equal parts contempt and surprise, before finally looking sadly and angrily, but somehow stoically at the same time.

“I’d tell you to go home, Eren. I really would. But I know you can’t, because Grisha will have figured out where you’ve gone, and he’ll publically execute you for going against him if you go back.”  She looked thoughtful for a minute, before coming to a decision, and continued on, “I suppose I have no choice but to. Let you stay here, I fucking guess. Just. You know. Stay out of the fights and you’ll be fine.” With that, she turned on her heel, and reached to open the door, turning to look at him again. “Oh by the way, the rest of us will probably have a ‘welcoming feast’”- she put this in air quotes – “to welcome you to our ranks. I suggest you be quiet and let them think what they want. In the meantime, the room upstairs”- she pointed to the stairs behind her brother – “can be yours. I’ll be back in a few hours to wake you. Get some sleep in the meantime.” On that final note, she opened the door and walked out, leaving Eren to his own thoughts, and an impending party he was definitely _not_ looking forward to.

*

It wasn’t but half an hour later that Marco burst into Levi’s room again, exclaiming, “oh by the way! There’ll be a welcoming feast in a few hours, just to let you know to expect that! I’ll let you rest for now and I’ll wake you a few minutes before.”

He shut the door, leaving Levi brewing in his thoughts for the next few hours.

* * *

A few hours later, there was a knock on Eren’s door, and Mikasa slipped inside.

“Eren,” she called softly, and her brother stirred from his slumber, blinking his eyes in confusion, his mind groggy, not quite computing where he was. he must have fallen asleep without thinking, He looked up at his sister, and she said softly, “wake up, it’s dinner time, there’s a feast downstairs waiting for you and the other newbie.”

Eren scowled in confusion. “There’s another one that joined your ranks?” his sister nodded, “he came about an hour after you did. You’ll meet him later on tonight, don’t worry.”

Eren nodded, his still glassy from sleep. He cricked his neck, exposing the bruise left behind from his sister’s arm earlier and she winced, seeing it. “I’m sorry, Eren. For earlier.” She said softly, remorse coloring her tone.

Eren grunted. “’s fine.” He said gruffly. “it doesn’t hurt or anything.”

She looked hesitant. “But it’s still pretty big-” he interrupted her. “

It’s fine, mika. Really.” She swallowed audibly, and nodded her head once. “of course. I’ll let you get dressed in peace. Just come downstairs when you’re ready, I’ll be waiting at the foot of the stairs for you.”

Eren nodded wordlessly, and Mikasa slipped out the door again, letting him dress uninterrupted.

*

Marco came by around the same time to Levi’s room, knocking on the door softly. “Levi? Can I come in? The feast starts in 15 minutes.”

Levi, who had been pacing around his room restlessly, b  for the last… how long had it been? Three? Four hours? He turned and called out, “come in”

Marco came in, grinning, a bounce in his step. “I’m so excited! You’ll meet the rest of your comrades in a few minutes! You’ll love them, I promise.” He left Levi at that, promising to walk him to the dinner hall.

*

Eren came out less than 10 minutes later, in the same clothes he had arrived in, as those were the only clothes he had brought with him. Mikasa smiled. “Shall we go meet your new comrades?” Eren nodded. “Yeah that would be great.”

*

Levi came out less than 5 minutes later, after taking a breath to compose himself and promising himself that he wouldn’t kill anyone. Marco flashed him the same grin he had given him when he had arrived earlier that day and said, “let’s go shall we?” Levi nodded wordlessly, before saying after a pause.  "Let's do this."

 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> so yeah you may have noticed i changed my formatting a bit, i got bored with my initial way of doing things so i changed it up. fun!  
> and it's time for... Comments From My Beta!!!  
> Me: tells my beta how the next chapter will pan out  
> My beta: *mybeta.exe has stopped working*

**Author's Note:**

> this goes out to my beta, Marina_lynx , who screamed and cried while listening to me tell her the plan of how this story will turn out.  
> stay woke my dude, and please don't kill me


End file.
